Cape Town – Looking back, it was strange to see that the Bulls actually scored within two minutes of the start of their United Rugby Championship clash against Connacht in Galway last September.
Once prop Lizo Gqoboka barged over and Johan Goosen landed the conversion, it seemed like it was going to be a memorable night at The Sportsground.
But it quickly became a nightmare for the Pretoria side, and they lost 34-7.
Bulls coach Jake White won’t forget that game in a hurry, even though his team still made it all the way to the final, where they went down to the Stormers.
And that is part of the reason why he called on the heavy artillery when naming his team on Thursday for Friday’s showdown against the Irish province at Loftus Versfeld (6.30pm kickoff).
An all-Springbok back-three of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Sbu Nkosi will have licence to thrill, while Johan Goosen has now been handed the flyhalf reins after starting at fullback against Edinburgh last week.
The Bok flavour doesn’t end there, as Marco van Staden has been brought in at blindside flank alongside Marcell Coetzee and Elrigh Louw in an imposing loose trio that have all the skills to try and stop the speedy Connacht outfit from generating quick ball at the breakdown.
“That’s an incredible backline we’ve put together now. Literally all of them have played for South Africa, and some on the bench played for South Africa,” White said on Thursday at Loftus.
“So, it’s the first time we’ve put them together as a combination, but I know how talented they are. I’m looking forward to see how quickly they take before they can click.
“They are all very talented rugby players, but it’s just a question of how long it’s going to take for us as a team to gel as a unit. They keep the ball in hand, and when you see them at training, they make line-breaks and there is so much support.
“It’s a nice (early evening) game: it’s not the middle of the night, and it’s not raining or anything. So, hopefully we will be able to keep the ball in hand. Part of rugby is also how cleverly you kick to them, and all of those guys are clever rugby players.”
Connacht have lost both matches so far – 36-10 to Ulster in Belfast and 38-15 to the Stormers in Stellenbosch – but White won’t be fooled by those results.
He knows that the visitors will enjoy the firm underfoot conditions at Loftus Versfeld, and are equipped to stretch the Bulls out wide.
“Connacht never give it away. Even though the (Stormers) game was, with the final score… Their first game against Ulster, with 20 minutes left, it was anyone’s game,” the former Bok mentor said
“What it showed us is that you mustn’t think that the game is just going to happen on its own for you. The Stormers scored three tries in the last 15 minutes when they (Connacht) were without Bundee Aki (who got a red card) – which is a big loss if you have that kind of player off the field.
“They beat us 34-7 and it was the biggest score against us last year. We know that we must play well to beat them.
“They play a direct style and are well coached. We will have to play well. Two weeks in a row, we got a 15-point start and still we had to work hard to get a result.
“So, it’s not as easy as people think. It’s going to be a tough game. They are a good side, and we’ve got to make sure we work hard enough to keep our momentum going, going into the (European tour).”
Teams
Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse 14 Canan Moodie 13 Cornal Hendricks 12 David Kriel 11 Sbu Nkosi 10 Johan Goosen 9 Zak Burger 8 Elrigh Louw 7 Marco van Staden 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain) 5 Ruan Nortje 4 Walt Steenkamp 3 Francois Klopper 2 Johan Grobbelaar 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 17 Simphiwe Matanzima 18 Mornay Smith 19 Janko Swanepoel 20 Reinhardt Ludwig 21 Embrose Papier 22 Chris Smith 23 Lionel Mapoe.
Connacht: 15 Oran McNulty 14 John Porch 13 Tom Farrell 12 Tom Daly 11 Mack Hansen 10 David Hawkshaw 9 Kieran Marmion 8 Jarrad Butler (captain) 7 Conor Oliver 6 Josh Murphy 5 Oisín Dowling 4 Leva Fifita 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Dave Heffernan 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart 17 Peter Dooley 18 Jack Aungier 19 Gavin Thornbury 20 Shamus Hurley-Langton 21 Colm Reilly 22 Byron Ralston 23 Ciarán Booth.
Sport
